


Working Class Hero

by JessGrondin



Category: The Avengers (2012)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-21
Updated: 2012-12-26
Packaged: 2017-11-21 23:11:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 19,393
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/603110
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JessGrondin/pseuds/JessGrondin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She has everything to fight for and nothing left to lose. But why does her vigilante style of justice get SHIELD'S attention? And can she ever let go of the past enough to have a future? Eventual Cap/OC</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue- Working Class Hero

**Author's Note:**

> Hello and welcome! Here follows the prologue to my little story. So you know, not all chapters will be songfics. Probably just this one. They are inspired by song, but just in the way of mood and feeling. If you like it, let me know! Favorite, follow, or review. Oh, also the husband is not an Avenger, just a regular dude. Song is Working Class Hero, by John Lennon.

**_As soon as you're born they make you feel small_** **** __  
By giving you no time instead of it all  
Till the pain is so big you feel nothing at all  
A working class hero is something to be

After the funeral, she spent two months in bed, wallowing and remembering. She remembered all the major moments of her life together.  The day she met him.  Their 1st date, 1st kiss. Their wedding. The day he graduated police academy, and they moved when he found a job. Living together happily in the small struggling city as years passed. He joined the gang squad, she taught at the high school. Them working together to try and make a difference. Telling him she was pregnant. These thoughts cycled around in her head always ended in the last one. The night of the murder.

He was out walking, going to the store to buy her some little thing. A treat. The group of gang member saw him and shot him down. He wasn’t even working, not in uniform. They gang squad whispered that it was all planned. He was an up and coming officer and got too close to the leader. So, they snuffed him out. She thought of the aftermath, going to the hospital. At some point she started bleeding. The Miscarriage, brought on by stress. Her whole life, gone in an instant. All they’d built, everything she’d ever wanted. Gone.

**_They hurt you at home and they hit you at school_** **** __  
They hate you if you're clever and they despise a fool  
Till you're so f*cking crazy you can't follow their rules  
A working class hero is something to be

One day she sat up. A sudden waking from a long, uneasy sleep. Mounted by his side of the bed was a staff. He was trained to fight with it. He never wanted a gun in the house. She carefully took it down and held it. The touch of the fine, smooth wood ignited something in her. Hatred, so hot it threatened to consume her, make her forget. No she’d never forget. They thought of him and their baby drove her forward. She dressed and took the staff with her to visit a friend, Robert Coulson, her husband’s trainer.

Robert watched her coming up the front walk, staff in hand and fire in her eyes.

“Rob, I need your help. I’m going to find him. I’m going to kill him. And as many of his subordinates as I can along the way.”

Robert didn’t ask questions. He opened the door to her and starting her training.

After she left, Robert picked up the phone. “Phil! I have someone you might want to keep an eye on. She shows incredible promise.”

**_When they've tortured and scared you for twenty-odd years_** **** __  
Then they expect you to pick a career  
When you can't really function you're so full of fear  
A working class hero is something to be

It took 5 more months of training and research, but she was ready. She dressed in dark clothes, tucked a picture in her shirt, grabbed the staff and went to walk the streets. She glanced at her wall calendar. 7 months since he died. She had been about 2 months along.  

_Maybe_ , she thought, _even though my pregnancy didn’t birth a baby, something else will be born tonight._

**_Keep you doped with religion and sex and TV_** **** __  
And you think you're so clever and classless and free  
But you're still f*cking peasants as far as I can see  
A working class hero is something to be

It didn’t take long. She found the group of low level gang bangers she was looking for. Four of them. She hid in the shadows of the street lights.

She took a breath, pressed the photo in her blouse, and thought _maybe tonight my love, maybe tonight,_ and stepped into the light.

“Excuse me boys. I’m looking for Drake. I have a message for him.”

Before they could react, she raised her staff and sent is slicing through the air and over the head of the 1st boy. She spun quickly, taking down another at the knees, smashing his head off the curb. The third fell with a strike to the ribs and a kick to the face. The fourth she needed awake, she needed to slow down. She knocked him from behind over shoulders, dropping him to his knees. Another hit to the side toppled him

**_There's room at the top they're telling you still_ ** ****__  
But first you must learn how to smile as you kill  
If you want to be like the folks on the hill 

Bree knelt by panting boy, reaching into her shirt and taking out the picture. A smiling photo of her and her husband. She tucked it into his hand, and whispered to him. “Tell Drake what happened. Tell him what happened and show him who’s looking for him.”

She stood up quickly and made her retreat. These boys would report back, give Drake the photo and then he would know.  The thought of it brought a cold smirk to her lips. It was started.

  
  
**_A working class hero is something to be  
If you want to be a hero well just follow me_ **


	2. Chapter 1- Some Nights

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapters song- Some Nights, by F.U.N. Enjoy!

****

****_This is it, boys, this is war, what are we waiting for?_  
Why don't we break the rules already?  
I was never one to believe the hype,   
save that for the black and white 

**_I try twice as hard and I'm half as liked,  
but here they come again to jack my style_ **

After the 1st fight, Bree waited. She trained with Rob, and tried to get useful information out of her husband’s friends at the Gang Squad Office. She chooses her marks carefully. The ones closest to her husband, the most frustrated ones. In short the only ones she thought might help a vigilante.

Rob kept calling her that, and she wasn’t sure how she felt about it.

“I’m not out to save the city anymore Rob, that dream is dead.” She tried to explain to him. “This isn’t for the good of mankind here, this is for me.”

“Right,” Rob argued. “This has nothing to with his dreams. However, he wouldn’t like to see you out on the street like this. Ti…”

“STOP!”  Bree snapped. “Leave him out of this. I don’t want to hear his name. Set up lets go again.”

Rob called his cousin again after that session. “Bree continues to improve. She took down four armed gang members with nothing but a staff, not a scratch in her. She even kept one lucid enough to pass a message on. She has amazing control.”

“Right,” Phil interrupted. “But she’s grieving and out for vengeance. What happens after she gets it? How can she help us?”

“That’s just it; I don’t think it’ll help. She is in pain, incredible pain. I don’t think killing a small time gang boss is going to be enough.”

“I’ll keep watching.”

“Good, I’ll keep calling”

 

A week later, Bree was ready again. She found the guy in charge of the ones she had fought last time. She trailed him for days, looking for the opportune moment. She found it. Whispering to herself again “Maybe tonight my love, maybe tonight.” She approached. Just like before, the fight was swift and nearly silent. Again she left a copy of her picture, and left the leader lucid enough to remember and report back. 

She followed this pattern, and three more months past in the blink of an eye. She was facing down the 1 year anniversary of her husband’s death. The local newspapers picked up the story of a vigilante with an apparent death wish attacked the lowest seated member s of the gang. She found quickly that people didn’t agree with her kind of justice.

 **** _Well some nights, I wish that this all would end_  
'Cause I could use some friends for a change  
And some nights, I'm scared you'll forget me again  
Some nights, I always win, I always win  
  
But I still wake up, I still see your ghost  
Oh Lord, I'm still not sure what I stand for, oh  
What do I stand for? Oh what do I stand for? Most nights, I don't know anymore  
  


****

Bree was heading to a training session when it all changed. The night before she had taken out a high ranking member, he was only about 4 steps removed from Drake. That left only three more fights. And one Agent Phil Coulson had seen enough. He was waiting on his cousin’s couch when she arrived.

“Who the hell are you? Where’s Rob?” She asked staff raised and ready.

“Settle down, put that away. I’m here to help you.” Coulson explained “I work for SHEILD, and I’m Rob’s cousin.”

“I didn’t know Rob had any family. And what’s shield?

“SHIELD is the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division”

“Ok great, that clears it right up. What do you want?” Bree still hadn’t lowered her staff, and Coulson stared at her impassively as he explained.

“SHEILD is gathering a group of the world best, Hero’s you could call them. We want to save the world, and we want you to help.”

“No.”

“No?”

“No. I don’t want to save the world. I’m after one man, and if I clear out a couple others in the process so be it.” Bree quietly explained. “Once I get him I’m done.”

“People don’t like your kind of justice. You get the man who killed you husband, then what? Disappear? Leave them open to the next gang boss to come in? Leave other families to be broken up?”

“I don’t care about other people or this city anymore.” Bree snapped back.

“What do you care about?” Agent Coulson asked.

Bree paused and answered honestly. “I don’t really know anymore.”

“We have a friend of yours.” Phil sighed as Bree growled low and raised her Staff higher. Coulson continued calmly. “He works for us, he knew your older brother.” Bree’s eyes widened to a wild look, no one had mentioned her older brother to her in years.

“Noah has been dead for years. And then promise of seeing in of his junkie buddies isn’t actually appealing” she hisses.

Coulson nodded “I wasn’t aware Dr. Banner had a drug problem.”

“Bruce?” Bree breathed. “You found Bruce?”

“Yes and A few others like him have developed our team.”

“Scientists?” She asked

“Some of them.” Coulson explained

“I’m almost done here. I need to finish. I only have a few fights left. I need to finish it for Ti….” She didn’t finish. It was still too hard to say his name.

“Timothy,” Phil finished for her, his expression softening minimally.  “Our intelligence tells us you won’t be able to finish this fight in your own. Drake isn’t the top like you think. It goes much higher and much deeper than that.” 


	3. Chapter 2- I Will Wait

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Today's song is I Will wait, Mumford and Sons. Let me know what you think!

****_Well I came home, like a stone_  
and I fell heavy into your arms  
These days of dust  
Which we have known, will blow away with this new sun  
But I'll kneel down, Wait for now  
And I'll kneel down  
Know my ground

Bree sat quietly on the ridiculously opulent plane, fidgeting with her staff.  _Who needs this? Isn't first class good enough?_ She thought to herself as the waited for takeoff. She glanced over at Robert's cousin occasionally, still waiting for some answers. Deeper and higher. What the hell did he mean by that? Drake was a gang boss, in a small town. As far as she, and the local gang squad, was concerned he was the prize, the kingpin of the whole operation. And then there was Bruce Banner. She and she older brother had played with him as children. She had even had a little crush in him growing up. When she got home for college and saw the shape Noah was in, she tried to contact him. But she was never able to find him.

These thoughts kept her occupied until the plane touched down in NYC. She sprang up from her chair, excited for the first time in a year. She really wanted to see Bruce, to talk to him. She knew he'd understand, and this band of "heroes" wouldn't be so bad if he were involved.

"Stark Tower? Seriously?" She asked Coulson as the car slipped into the underground parking facility.

"Yes" he answered shortly. Quietly leading her up to the main building.

"Captain Rogers is in the gym, sir. Agents Barton and Romanov are on assignment, and Mr. Stark and Dr. Banner are in the Lab."

Bree nearly jumped out of her skin and started some deep breathing to calm her down as Coulson answered "Thank You, JARVIS. Please let Mr. Stark know we are on our way. And ask the Captain to join us."

"Very Good Sir."

They got off an elevator and rounded a corner. Bree started to run as soon as she saw him. "BRUCE!" she cried, and tossed herself into his arms. Somewhere in the background she processed to other male voices. One asking her, with some authority, to back away. The other saying something along about not seeing that every day.

"Bruce," Bree whispered again. Her eyes pricked and she took a deep breath. She hadn't cried since she got out of bed, and she wasn't going to start now.

"Bree? Jesus, it is you!" Bruce explained. Bree heard the first voice clear its throat, like it was giving some kind of warning. Like Bree better back off or Bruce would hurt her or something.

Infuriated by the insinuation that Bruce was dangerous, and that she couldn't handle herself she turned quickly to confront him. "Listen buddy, I don't know who you are but…' she began, but stopped short. Standing behind her were no other then Tony Stark, and a classically handsome blonde man who seemed to be on high alert. "Oh my god! You're Tony Stark!"

"In the flesh, and the God isn't here but could come surfing in on the next bolt of lightning. And this is Captain Steve Rodgers, still freezer fresh."

"Ummm, hello. I'm Bree…."

"Bree is an old friend, guys. I think I can handle this." Bruce interrupted her. "We have a lot of catching up to do anyways."

"If you say so, Big Guy, call if you need us!" Stark turned, then stopped and glanced back. "Rodgers, let's go, if he says he's got this then he's got this. Circle of Trust." Bree turned to this captain and saw him staring at her. He blushed at being caught and turned to follow Stark out.

"Weird," Muttered Bree, turning to Bruce to find him smirking at her. "What?"

"Nothing, nothing so…"

"What were they acting like that? Like I should be afraid of you?" she interrupted.

Bruce sighed and shook his head. "Easier to show then to tell. You'll eventually have to know everything anyway." He said, turning the video monitor toward her. On the screen was footage of Bruce turning into the Hulk.

"Jeez Bruce, I watched that on the news, I'd have never guessed it was you. What happened to you?"

"I was researching gamma radiation, and there was an accident."

"You could say that again."

"Yeah, so you. What happened to you? Why are you here?" He asked, before she got a chance to ask too many questions.

"It's been along few years, a lot has happened." she said, fidgeting around her staff

Bruce noticed fidgeting and said smiling. "Well, unless you have video too, I think it's best to start at the beginning."

Bree closed her eyes, took a deep breath and reminded herself it was Bruce Banner she was talking to, he knew her and her family. Then she began, keeping to short and to the point in order to keep her composure.

"It started while I was away at school. My father died in a car crash. It was sudden and extremely painful to the whole family. I tried to drop out of school to stay home and help mother. But Noah convinced me it would be fine if I left. That dad wanted me to finish school. So I did, but the stress was really too much for my older brother. He started using drugs. It got progressively worse, and I had my first experiences with gangs while dragging my brother out of crack houses and gang sponsored parties. I tried everything I could to get him clean. Nothing worked, Noah died of an overdose two years ago. Meanwhile, I had met and married Timothy, finished school, and he went through police academy. We moved after Noah died. I convinced mother to move south to be with her family. We were building a life when the murder happened. Now, I felt it was wrong to drag her mother back, Timothy was gone and with him our baby. So I started to fight."

Bree detailed the last few year for Bruce, while he looked on in amazement. "They made me their own best weapon, Bruce," She finished, in barely more than a whisper. "I have nothing left to lose, but everything to fight for."

"So that's why they want you. Someone else with a passion to fight HYDRA." Stark blurted out, barging in.

"Who?" Bree asked. "Wait, did you listen to all that, I really don't appreciate…"

"HYDRA is a terrorist organization." Coulson jumped in, following Tony in and talking fast before he could interrupt. "We have reason to believe they are using local gangs, like this Drake's, to get foot holds in major cities across the US. Like I told you before, higher and deeper."

"Wow," Bree said sitting down on the nearest stool and slipping into the vigilante attitude she was becoming accustomed to. She had let it slip during her conversation with Bruce. "Do I need to take on HYDRA to get to Drake?"

"We believe so." Coulson answered.

"OK, then let's do this."

"I like her! No need for information, just ready to jump right in!" Tony exclaimed. Steve Rodgers continued to stare at her. Bree figured it had to do with her story which they had all obviously listened in on. Which really pissed her off, but she'd deal with that later. This was more important.

"Agent Coulson," Steve interjected. "Isn't this a little sudden? Does she really need at get all this information like this? Isn't it all classified?"

"She already knows about the Hulk. And like Dr. Banner said, she'll need to know it all anyway." Coulson replied.

"So you were listening!?" Bree exclaimed. To which Tony Stark just nodded his head and smirked.

"What a minute now, Bree. Are you sure? The Bree Barnes I knew would never do anything like this." Bruce asked, using her maiden name, Bree guessed he didn't know her married one. He was shocked with her readiness to jump into a fight. As soon as Drake was mentioned, an aura seemed to settle around her. Bruce was startled to see how cold her eyes got as she rationally agreed to take these people on.

"Lot has happened to that girl Bruce! And I…"

"Excuse me," Captain Rogers asked, interrupting to speak to Bree for the first time. "Did he just say your last name was Barnes?"


	4. Chapter 3- We are Young

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick authors note, in my world no one ever killed Agent Coulson. Basically because he's far to cool to die. So, he's here in my story. Also, no one proof read for me. So, any and all mistakes are mine. I know personally that sometimes writing mistakes can pull me out of a story, if this happens to you I apologize. The song is We are Young, by F.U.N.

**Tonight**  
We are young  
So let's set the world on fire  
We can burn brighter  
Than the sun

"Well, it's Sullivan now. Barnes was my maiden name. Bruce never met Ti...my husband." Bree explained, slightly angry at herself for stumbling over Timothy's name. Almost a year later and it still hurt

"Where is your family from?" Steve eagerly asked.

"Why do you have so many questions suddenly?" After learning about Drake's gang working with some super-secret entity, she was on edge.

Steve sighed, he had no idea what was making her so hostile. "I fought with a man named Barnes. He was a good friend."

"Sorry, my dad never fought, and my brother's dead."

Bruce flinched at the caviler tone Bree was using. She was a warm and loving as a child, even though she laid her whole history out to him she felt he was missing something. He was about to interrupt before Steve had to explain which war he fought in, but he was too late.

Steve sighed and Tony snickered. "World War II," Steve explained. "I fought with a Barnes during World War II."

Bree glared at him, unbelieving, as things slowly started to come together. "Wait, so, we have Ironman and the Hulk…'surfing in on the next lightning bolt,' that's Thor. Mother of Christ. Captain Rodgers...'freezer fresh?' You're Captain America?"

"Ummm….." Steve trailed off, glancing at Coulson for help.

"Wow. Smarty pants! How'd you figure that out so fast?" Tony asked

"I watch the news, and I'm not an idiot. Besides, you and Bruce told me everything else I needed to know." She explained.

"What  _did_  you do for work, ya know, pre-vigilante?" Tony asked

"First, I'm not a vigilante. I have a fight with one man, and after I kill him I'm done. And I was a high school science teacher." Bree said. It took her a moment to realize why everyone was staring at her, and then it clicked. Rob had always hated how matter of factly she took on the gang. Apparently, superheroes also disliked her attitudes towards death.  _Jesus, they've killed plenty!_ Thought Bree.  _And I assumed they realized why I was here, after listening in on Bruce and me._

Steve shook out of it first. "OK, so you guessed it. But I'm really curious if you're related to Bucky?"

"Bucky?" Bree clarified, "My grandmother was Rebecca Barnes. She got pregnant with my dad out of wedlock and ran off to Albany to have the baby. She was originally from around here, Brooklyn I think. I grew up in Albany, and moved when Timothy found a job."

"Did your Grandmother have a brother, by any chance?" Steve asked. The story seemed to match up. He felt hopeful, that maybe he finally had a small connection to his old life.

"Ummm..." Bree paused, thinking. Feeling a little excited to find a potential connection in all this mess. "Yes! Yes, I think she did! James…but no one called him that she said…"

"He's name was James Buchanan Barnes. We all called him Bucky." Steve explained.

"Wow," Bree said. She looked at him and was taken aback. He looked so…handsome, in an earnest and almost innocent way. His eyes really were a nice blue… _Stop!_ Bree scolded herself.  _What the hell are you thinking! Get it together and get back to work!_

"Well," she said out loud. "Thanks for the cozy catch up, but don't we have work to do? I was two men from the top back at home, and now it seems I'm starting over. And I'd like to get started."

It was like she threw cold water over them all. Even Tony was still searching for something to say after her rapid mood shift, when JARVIS interrupted.

"Sir, Mrs. Sullivan's rooms are prepared."

Bree visibly flinched at being addressed by her married name and snapped, "Just Bree is fine, thank you."

"Yes, ma'am, of course." Responded JARVIS.

"Um," Tony stumbled over his words, "I'll get someone to show you the way then."

Tony stepped out and Steve excused himself for the night. Bruce turned to her once they were alone. "Bree, are you really sure about this? It's going to be dangerous. You could be killed."

"I know, Bruce. Why the hell do you think I've been doing all this?" Bree bit out and left to follow the women sent to take her to her suite. She kicked herself for losing her temper; she had revealed way too much.

The first fight didn't come fast enough for Bree. Five weeks she had to wait. And in those five weeks, the 1st anniversary of her husband's murder came. She tried to stay busy that day, tried to keep distracted. She was in the gym when it all finally hit.

She was spinning fast, staff hitting dummies with frightening accuracy. Steve was in the gym as well, and stopped to watch her as she moved at a frenetic pace, trying to beat out her demons. When all at once she stopped, and collapsed. She was out of strength and couldn't keep up her façade anymore. He ran to her and picked her up, holding her close to him. He instantly thought how good she felt in his arms, and then just as quickly felt guilty for thinking such a thing.  _Stop it Steve,_ He chided himself.  _She's a grieving widow for god sake._

"What's wrong," he whispered. "Are you hurt?"

"No, no, I'm fine. Just, please let me go." Bree pleaded, she found comfort in his arms, and was disgusted with herself.

"Ok, ok," Steve said slowly backing away.

"one year.' She explained. "one year today."

Steve stood in shock as she ran off.

After what happened in the gym, Bree was ready for the first fight when it finally came. A SHEILD agent tried offering her some new top of the line staff, and she flatly refused. She was doing this from him, and she'd finish it with his weapon.

Now, she glanced around the small jet carrying her and Steve, she could hear Tony flying alongside them. Bruce was back at the base. It was decided this mission was to small scale to need to involve the Hulk. He was only called in on bigger scale event. She noticed Steve tapping his boot as the waited to land. She found it odd that he would be anxious; Bree always felt incredibly came before a fight. And she was ready now.

When the landed Bree assessed the situation, a large gang gathering at a park, She immediately slunk in to the shadows to watch her mark. As she'd done in the past, she'd wait for the opportune time to attack. Tony and Steve did no such thing. The jumped right in the middle of the party and Tony started shooting off snarky comments.

"Hey Felllas! You didn't invite me! I'm all for community involvement!" He said to the stunned crowd. Most of them still trying to figure out what the hell Ironman was doing there. Then, Steve threw his shield into the group, scattering them. This was the opportunity Bree needed. She jumped from the fringes and brought her staff down hard on the closest man's head. Another swing and another ripe melon thud of a direct hit. She glanced around, they'd been figured out. The gang was closing ranks. This was much more sophisticated a move then Bree was used too. They circled and protected one man. Her mark. "Maybe tonight, my love, maybe tonight," she whispered.

With a leap, Bree launched herself into the middle of the pack, swinging viciously. Hit after hit she brought men down. A fast glance showed her Tony and Steve easily battling multiple gang members. If she didn't hurry, they'd get to the mark before her.

With a mighty swing she took out two more men, and found herself face to face with their leader. She took a breath to calm herself  _Keep him lucid and alive._  She went for the knees first, then the ribs.

She pulled the picture from her shirt. "Tell Drake I'm still fighting. Tell him I won't stop until he's dead. And while you're at it, let HYDRA know we're on to them, too."

She stomped off, leaving Steve and Tony staring at each other.

"I've only seen one kind of person fight like that. No hesitation, no though of self-defense or personal safety…" Steve trailed off, as SHEILD agents stepped in to do mop up. "And did you hear what she whispered before she jumped in?" He whispered

"Yeah," Tony replied quietly, watching Bree stride off with concern. "The girl has a God dammed death wish."

**The world is on my side**  
I have no reason to run  
So will someone come and carry me home tonight  
The angels never arrived  
But I can hear the choir  
So will someone come and carry me home


	5. Chapter 4- Everybody Talks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all, so I'm not really sure about this chapter, it was harder to write then I had expected so I hope it comes across alright. Let me know what you think!
> 
> This chapter brought to you by the song Everybody Talks and the artist Neon Trees.

****_Hey baby won't you look my way_  
I can be your new addiction  
Hey baby what you gotta say?  
All you're giving me is fiction  
I'm a sorry sucker and this happens all the time  
I found out that everybody talks  
everybody talks, everybody talks

Days settled into a routine in New York. Well, as much of a routine as possible when fighting a terrorist organization. SHEILD researched, they were briefed, fought, and then debriefed. Each cycle taking a bit more than a week, longer and longer as they got deeper into HYDRA. While SHIELD found their next mark, Bree took to helping Bruce out in his lab. Steve was hanging around a lot too. They spent most days talking and arguing while Tony and Bruce did the real work. As Bree got to know him better, she found Steve to be funny, honest, and just plain good.

"Hey Bree," Steve greeted her, poking her in the side with the lab tool he was packing up.

"OW!" she griped. "You're always poking me with stray objects. That's poor lab safety, Steven!"

"Sorry, Ma'am. I'll be more careful in the future." He laughingly apologized, smiling down at her. She was really getting attached to that smile. It was friendly and open, and free of any pretension or expectations. Steve was easy to smile back at. They joked as they cleaned up the rest of the tools together, and filed away some paperwork before Steve had to leave.

"Why do you always hang out here?" Bruce asked her after Steve had left

"Well Bruce, I may not be a genius like you and Stark, but I did teach honor level science back home." She joked. "And I'm bored, may as well be your lab assistant as anything else around here."

"Funny, but Steve tends to spend a lot of time here lately too…

"What? Didn't he always check in with you guys?" Bree asked.

"No," Bruce replied. "Tony was, and still is, around a lot but never Steve. He's been having a hard time adjusting to the 21st century. I think the advance technology in here scares him." Bruce explained.

"Maybe he's coming to learn from you guys? You are pretty smart."

"No, Bree, I don't think he's coming in to see me and Tony…"

"What are you getting at Bruce?" Bree interrupted.

"Oh please!" Tony said striding in. "Cap's had the hots for you since the first day you ran in here and mauled Bruce."

"Seriously, Tony? Do you plan on listening in on every private conversation I have with Bruce?"

"Only the juicy ones!"

"Speak of the devil." Bruce muttered as Steve walked back in.

"Hey guys! Forget my coat." Steve explained. "What's going on?" He asked, seeing how deep in conversation the three seemed.

"Actually, we we're just coming up with some plans for Bree. She's never been to New York and hasn't really been able to get out much." Tony lied smoothly.

Steve grinned and turned to Bree. "I'd take you out sightseeing, if you'd like. I could show you the places I remember anyways…"

_Don't look Bree,_ she thought to herself.  _You know he'll look like an eager puppy, waiting for your answer._ As the silence grew longer, Bree took a quick glance at him.  _Yup, exactly like I thought. And whose eyes actually sparkle when they're excited?_

Out loud she answered. "Um, yeah Steve that would be nice." Steve smiled and turned to leave. He turned back around to catch the end of the glare Bree leveled at Tony and at Bruce for setting this up.

His face fell slightly as he said "Well I'll talk to you soon and we can figure out a good time."

"Awesome, guys, just great. Did you see that he looked like a kicked puppy!" Bree grumbled after he left, while Tony and Bruce laughed.

Going out with Steve was put on hold by a fight, but after the debrief, he pulled her aside.

"So, if you'd still like to, I thought I could take you sight seeing Saturday?" Steve asked quietly.

Bree smiled at him. It amused her a bit that Captain America was shy around girls. "Sure buddy, that'd be nice." She agreed smiling, and walked away.

_Buddy? I really wish she'd called me anything else but buddy._ Steve mused.

Bree walked directly to Bruce's lab, all traces of the smile she gave to Steve gone.

"I can't do this." She stated.

"Do what?" Bruce asked

"Go out with Steve. I can't Bruce, I'm not ready. My husband, Timothy, I can't do this to him!" She cried, pacing the lab.

"Bree, Bree, calm down. You're not going on a date. He's taking you to see the Statue of Liberty and Central Park. And even if it was a date, it wouldn't be betraying Timothy."

"I still love him Bruce!"

"Of course you do! You'll always love him, probably. But you need to start to say goodbye!" Bruce insisted.

"I can't let go! I miss him so much; I'm not ready for this!" Bree exclaimed, and sat down next to Bruce, resting her head on his shoulder.

That's how Steve saw them when he came in. Bree trying not to cry with her head on Banner's shoulder, and Banner rubbing her back to soothe her.

"I was just going, you stay." Bree said when she saw Steve, and saw that he was trying to make an unobtrusive exit.

"So, um, Bruce. I actually had a question for you. It personal so..." Steve began after Bree left.

Bruce smirked; he had an idea where this was going. "Out with it Cap. It'll be far less painless that way."

"Do you and Bree have something going on?"

"Oh this is classic!" Tony interrupted entering the lab.

"You really do listen in on everything, don't you?" Bruce asked.

"Again, only the juicy bits, which there seem to be more since Bree got here." Tony joked. "So, out with Banner, what's with you and Deathwish?"

"That's not funny, Tony. Stop trying to make that her nickname. And no Cap. There is nothing going on. I grew up with her older brother. Maybe she had a crush in grade school, but that's it." Bruce explained

Cap smiled and Tony suddenly and uncharacteristically got serious. "Jesus, Rodgers. Of all the girls in this world, you fall for the most broken woman I've ever met."

Seeing Steve was confused, Bruce felt he needed to understand what he was getting into and explained. "She came to me because she's conflicted, Steve. She feels like going out with you is some kind of betrayal to her husband. I didn't know him, but she loved him so he must have been a good man."

" You've watched her fight, Cap." Tony interrupted, still serious. "She fights like she doesn't care if she lives or dies. She's. Well…she's damaged."

"I….I really do like her." Steve started, feeling like he needed to explain.

"Then be careful," Bruce cut in. "She came to me a few months ago, after she collapsed in the gym, it was the one year anniversary of her husband's murder. She told me you helped her. She didn't beat you up, and she still talks to you. So she must like you in some way too. You've been a good friend to her."

"That's what she was trying to say! I didn't get it then, but now I understand. But, guys, I think I want to be more then friends with her. "

"If you're still thinking about it, keep it to yourself." Tony advised. "Don't make her life any more complicated than it already is."

"Thanks, Tony. That was actually really good advice."

'Well, Cap, sometimes even I get it right."

Saturday came and Bree got ready to go out with Steve. She took more care with her appearance then she had since she used to dress for her husband. Fixing her hair in the mirror, she allowed her thoughts to wonder. She thought of her dates with Timothy, how much fun they used to have just being in each other's company. She was getting a little emotional, when she was interrupted by a knock at her door.

"Hi Steve!" She greeted him, but Steve thought he heard a false brightness in her voice. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea.

"Hello, are you ready to go?" He asked somewhat nervously, handing her a bouquet of daisies.

"Aww, thanks Cap! I love Daisies!" She said turning to put them in a cup of water. "That was really sweet."

"No Problem, Ummm…I have my bike out front if you're ready…"  _So I'm Cap again now? I think I might rather she called me buddy again._ He thought to himself.

"Bike? Like motorcycle?" Bree asked excitedly.

Steve nodded.

"Awesome! Let's roll!" She said, leading him out of the door.

Outside, Bree climbed onto the back of the bike and wrapped her arms around Steve's waist. He smelt like worn leather and faint cologne. It was a comfortable smell. It took a real effort not to bury her face in his jacket and sniff. Their first stop was Central Park.

They strolled around and talked about nothing important. Steve was practically itching to grab her hand, and it took conscious thought not to reach out and grab it.

"So what did you do for work, before?" He asked to distract himself

"I was a high school science teacher, working on my degree to be a guidance counselor." She answered. Realizing as she did that Steve was the first person on New York she had told about her plans to be a counselor, at home only Timothy had known. She never even told Bruce.

"Wow, so you and your husband would have been a cop and a counselor?"

"Yeah, we were going to try and save the world, Timothy and I." She joked, her and Steve both noticing how much easier it seemed to be to talk about her husband.

"We're all crusaders after all, I suppose." Steve observed

"Yeah, I guess". She responded quietly. Steve really made her feel at ease. This was the first time she's spoken to anyone about her plans with Timothy. It was easy to talk to him.

"Come one," Steve said noticing how quiet Bree was getting. "I'll buy you an ice cream."

He grabbed her hand without thinking to lead her to the ice cream cart. It was like in the movies, Bree felt a small shock run through her hand as Steve's much larger one engulfed it. She looked up at him to see his smile, the one she liked, open and free of expectations.

_What harm could it do?_  She thought, tightening her grip to reassure him that she didn't mind.

The call came in while they were looking for a nice place to eat their cones. Steve apologized to her for cutting the day short, but they had to go in to the Tower immediately. It was time for another fight.

Bree was fighting for her life. SHIELD had found Drakes second in command, and she was getting close to him. Her staff sliced the air again and again, but she couldn't seem to fight off enough of the men. She hit and ducked and hit again, but it didn't seem to matter. She glanced around quickly to see how the others were faring. This was the hardest fight yet. Tony threw two guys off his back and started flying to attack from above. Checking Steve, she saw a man coming up behind him.

"Cap! Behind you!" She called

He turned around and tossed out his shield. But Bree's hesitation cost her, she took a kick to the ribs that she was totally unprepared for. She gasped and fell to her knees. She had never been hit like that in a fight before. She felt the man grab her arm and twist it behind her back. Half an instant later she felt her hair lift in the breeze of Cap's shield as it flew by and got the man off her. She knocked him out with a stiff hit to the head. She made it to the mark first, and dropped him with a hit to his back. She dropped to her knees panting, to relay her message and pass on her picture. "Tell Drake he's next. I'm coming for him."

Bree stalked off to the jet and waited silently to get back to the Tower. Once there she spun on Cap and swung her staff at his head.

He caught it easily and deflected the hit. 'What the hell was that for?" He snapped.

"I hesitated! I hesitated to check on you and it almost killed me!" She screamed at him.

"I thought that's what you wanted out of all this!" Cap yelled, he was still up from the fight and lost his temper. He immediately wished he could take the words back, but Bree's gasp told him it was too late.

"Maybe it was! Maybe it still is! But I won't hesitate again Captain! I will end this!" She yelled back before storming away, leaving Tony, Bruce, and Steve all staring in shock after her.


	6. Meant To Live

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song is Meant To Live, by Switchfoot. Also, now rated M due to some serious swear words.

****_Fumbling his confidence_  
And wondering why the world has passed him by  
Hoping that he's meant for more than arguments  
And failed attempts to fly, fly

Bree lay in her bed staring out at the stormy New York Sky line and wondering why the hell she's gotten so mad at Steve. A team looks out for each other, she'd warned Steve, and he'd helped her in turn. Why did she get so angry then? It came to her suddenly; she had not talked to Timothy that night. She hadn't told him she may be with him before it was over. A second thought flashed through her mind, this one much more painful. She didn't  _want_  to go to him then. She had felt, not happy, no, but maybe content? She was still puzzling over this when someone knocked on the door.

"Can I come in?" Asked the last voice she had imagined hearing.

"Sure Tony, come on in."

"Hey, girlie, how's it going?" He joked somewhat awkwardly.

"Which one sent you, and what do they want to know?"

"I'm hurt, truly hurt, I can't just come in to talk to my little buddy?"

"Tell Bruce I'll be fine in the morning, it was just a hard fight. And tell Steve…"

"Yeah, Steve, about Steve…"

"What?" Bree Interrupted

"Well, you we're getting along well with him, you seemed happy to be around him." Tony gently explained. He marveled to himself how seriously he was taking all this. Pepper would be so proud if she ever found out, he thought.

"I can't do this with you Tony." Bree practically pleaded.

"Listen Bree, I've made some piss poor decisions in my life, especially romantically. No let me finish please." He said as she tried to interrupt. "You'd be a fool if you didn't see how Cap feels about you. And even I saw how you were with him. You like him, and that's ok."

"I got to close Tony! It was never supposed to happen, I was supposed to fight and then go home and live what was left of my life!" Bree explained. "If I had any more life! I was willing to die for this, Tony!"

"I know. We all know. Cap and I noticed it the first time we fought with you. You fought like you wanted to die. But that's changed, I think. You've relaxed out of all that. We've all had low points, Bree " Tony said. "Trust me, having such super highs can lead to some super lows. You're not alone here Bree. There is no reason you can't move on after this is all over."

"Damn Tony, when did you get so smart?" Bree half joked, a part of her upset that she had been that transparent to them.

"I'm a superhero slash genius kid, and the title is not undeserved." Tony half seriously responded.

"I'm still not sure what the right move would be, but I will take what you said into consideration." She assured him. "But, I think we need to focus on the next fight, this one was hard. I imagine they'll have more practice and better weapons next time."

Tony sighed, how easily she switched back into business mode. "Well, help may be on the way…" He trailed off after a particularly loud clap of thunder.

A booming laugh was soon heard from the living room outside of Bree's suite of rooms. "Thor?" She asked Tony

"The very same, fresh from lightning surfing I presume. Come on, I'll introduce you. I think Barton and Romanov are back tonight to, but spies are notoriously hard to schedule. "

Walking out with Tony, Bree saw a tall and muscular blond man greeting Steve with a big smile. "My Captain! It is a true honor to return to fight with you once again!" Steve seemed to blush faintly and Bruce shook his head and tried not to laugh.

"Fair lady!" Thor said, turning to greet her he took her hand and leaned to place a kiss on her knuckles. Tony and Bruce laughed at Steve's slightly jealous looking glare, and Bree watched him with some concern. "Be you a warrior."

"Yes," Bruce interjected. "She is. Thor, this is Bree."

"Yes, our Agent Coulson told me of you. He said your husband died the honorable death of a warrior. Be comforted that surely he feasts and fights in Valhalla. And, as you are a warrior also, some far off day when your time comes you shall surely join him!"

The other men turned quickly to Bree, knowing how sensitive she could be about her husband. But she had a small thoughtful smile on her face.

"Thank you Thor", she said barley above a whisper. " That was the most comforting thing anyone has said abut Timothy's death."

Thor smiled but was kept from responding by JARVIS heralding the arrival of Agents Barton and Romanov. Bree was about to comment on the strange coincidence of all this, when the walked in the room trailing Agent Coulson.

"Our recon team has found Drake. Along with some vital information about his HYDRA connections."

"What kind of connections?" Bruce asked

"Well, it seems not much that has happened in Bree Barnes's life in the last 5 years has been a coincidence." Romanov started in a surprisingly husky voice.

Without any real conscious thought, Bree jumped off the chair she had just sat in. She retrieved her staff by the door and spun it with nervous energy as she paced the room.

"Start talking." She snapped, leveling a glare at Coulson.

All three agents told the story, making it as detail rich as possible for their audience.

"First, Drake's last name is Schmidt." Barton began

"Not the same?" Asked Cap.

"Unfortunately, yes. He is the grandson of Johann Schmidt, and his father, Albert Schmidt, is the mastermind behind the local gang takeovers." Barton finished as Steve sat heavily down in Bree's old chair. No one else asked for clarification about why Cap got so upset, so Bree decided to let it slide, she'd find out later.

"Targeting Bree's family was planned from the start. They assumed Captain Rodgers would know about his best friend's extended family, or that SHEILD would." Romanov said.

"They were, as you know, wrong. When George Barnes's car crash failed to get any reaction, the next turned their attention to Noah Barnes." Coulson explained

Bree let out a growl that had everyone staring at her. The wild look in her eyes was the same Coulson saw the first time they met and he mentioned her brother. He quickly continued.

"Noah, unfortunately, succumbed to drug addiction and it was decided he was not a threat or on SHIELD's watch. He would later die of a drug overdose."

"It had seemed like a lost cause, until the marriage of Noah's sister Bree to one Timothy Sullivan, a police officer, was brought to HYDRA's attention." Barton added

Then Romanov started again. "With Schmidt's connections in the city, Sullivan was hired as a gang squad member at the local police department. Unfortunately for Schmidt, he was a brilliant officer and made a lot of head way into dismantling Drakes gang. And Bree actively worked in the high school and was starting to reduce their recruitment numbers. They hadn't thought those things would happen."

"Then, Steve came out of the ice. They thought that now, surely, he would go looking for connection to his past. So they took Sullivan out, hoping to get SHEILD's attention." Barton interjected.

"They did not, but they got Bree Barnes's attention, and she got SHEILD's." Romanov finished, nodding her head in Bree's direction.

"And then she went right to Rodgers. We have played right into HYDRA's hands. They're after Captain America, and used Bree to lead them right to him. " Coulson finished.

"When's the fight?" Bree asked, before the others had even had a chance to process the whole story.

"Soon" Barton answered. "Within the next 24 hours."

"I'm ready," she said. "I'll be in the gym whenever everyone else is."

****_We were meant to live for so much more_  
Have we lost ourselves?  
Somewhere we live inside  
Somewhere we live inside  
We were meant to live for so much more  
Have we lost ourselves?  
Somewhere we live inside

When it was time to go, Steve went to the gym to collect Bree. She was moving much like she had the time she had collapsed, and he had held her. He recognized that now as the beginning. It was the start of a friendship, and for a while he had hoped it might turn in to something more. With a deep breath and a shake to clear his head, he called out to her.

"Bree, you shouldn't practice like that before a fight. You'll tire yourself out."

"I could never be too tired for this fight, Captain." She turned to him calmly, and he saw that same cold look in her eyes. She was the vigilante again. He could have sworn he saw that look fading away, warming up, as they had got to know each other. It was disheartening to see how quickly she slipped back into it.

She cocked her head to one side and asked suddenly. "Who was Johann Schmidt?"

"An old enemy." Steve answered automatically

"You'll have to do better than that. I know you well enough to tell when you're holding back."

Steve sighed before continuing. She was turning out to be as tangled up with HYDRA as he was. She deserved to have at least some of the facts.

"Dr. Erskine was the man who invented the serum that, well, made me. I wasn't his first experiment. Johann Schmidt was. But it went wrong, and he was horribly disfigured by it. He was also after something called the tesseract, to make weapons. I went after him, he tried to touch the tesseract and it killed him. That was when I crashed into the ice. He was a dangerous man. I had no idea he had any family, neither did SHIELD. Until now, apparently."

Bree stared for a moment, feeling like Steve was still holding back, but was kept from responding by the entrance of Agent Barton coming to collect them for the fight.

The jet landed quietly in front of an old warehouse. It took Bree one glance out the window to realize where they were.

"Shit," she breathed, "they've taken me home."

She looked back around to see Bruce nodding sympathetically at her. It was decided he would hang back in the jet helping to organize the fight, unless the Hulk needed to be called in. She took a deep breath and followed the others out. As she went she whispered, "It'll all be over tonight, love. One way or another it'll be done for good."

When they managed their way into the building, Bree quickly sunk into the shadows. She knew who she was looking for, no other fight mattered tonight. She made her way up the metal workman's scaffoldings, to the edge of her shadows where she could overlook the warehouse floor. She gasped audibly and pulled back. The sheer number of soldiers was overwhelming, and they all looked heavily armed. She immediately thought of the mythical hydra, the many headed, serpentine beast of Greek legend.

"Cut off one head and two more will grow in its place." She heard Steve whisper through her ear piece.

She knew it would start soon, that Tony or Steve or possibly Thor would go charging in to start the fight. Her instinct told her that they would be overwhelmed by numbers. She had to find Drake now, before it all started and he was able to sneak away. She saw him, a level below her and diagonally across, surveying his people like a king. She started down quietly, leaping soundlessly over barriers and around creaky metal stair ways.

When she reached him, she made quick and quiet work of the two men guarding his station.

"Oh, Drake," she whispered in an almost seductive tone.

"Bree!" Bruce called over her ear piece.

"What the hell are you doing?" Steve finished for him.

She ignored them, the slight widening of Drakes eyes alerted her that he had recognized her and had possibly been waiting for her.

"Recognize me?"

"I do, sweetheart, I do. Finally here to finish me off? Took you long enough." Drake responded, full of bravado.

"Patience is a virtue," Bree snarked, taking a swing with her staff. Drake dodged it.

"You can do better than that!" Drake taunted. Bree swung again, aiming for his knees, and connected with his thigh

Drake limped to a corner to call his guards, but they didn't respond. Bree smirked as she watched him franticly call to anyone who could come.

"I didn't come alone, Drake. I brought help. You can't win this." Bree called out

"You came with 5 others!" Drake snapped "I have HYDRA! Cut off one head…"

"And two more grow in its place. Cap mentioned that." Bree coolly interrupted

Drake snapped his head to look at her, eyes wide.

"Yes, Captain America. He's here, fighting with me. I have others on my side to, Drake." She warned

"I can see them! Look, they are being overwhelmed!" He grabbed her roughly by the shoulder and spun her to watch the fighting below them. Bree's first reaction was to swing at him, but the sight she saw stopped him.

Each of her partners was completely surrounded by HYDRA agents. Each fight was at least twenty to one. Steve seemed to be fighting twice as many.

"Steve," she breathed, watching him with concern.

"Oh yes, Steve Rodgers, the famous Captain America. I had a feeling you'd look for him. We're told you have a very, umm, close relationship with Captain Rodgers. What your husband would have…"

Bree was quick as lightening, she brought her staff around in a crushing blow against his ribs. "NEVER! Talk about my husband, you scum!"

She swung again and hit his knees this time, and he dropped in front of her. "If you know so much, then you know who's waiting in the jet. He _is_  a close, old friend. And he can be here in a second."

"No." Drake said quietly

"What?" Bree questioned

"No, please I'll cooperate. Keep your monster away," Drake pleaded, real fear in his eyes. "This was never my plan, anyway. It was all his."

"Who's?" Bree demanded.

"My father. He wanted to finish what his father, the great Johann Schmidt, had started 90 years ago." Drake practically spit out, still clutching his side. "He thought Captain America, the super solider, was the key to everything. He thought you as Bucky Barnes's niece would lead him right to us. I hate that he was right, he played me too. He wanted to take over the world. I just wanted…"

She hit him over the shoulders and he fell flat on his face, banging his head and knocking himself unconscious.

"You took everything from me. Do you really think I give a fuck what you wanted?"

**_We want more than this world's got to offer  
We want more than this world's got to offer  
We want more than the wars of our fathers  
And everything inside screams for second life_ **

****

****


	7. Glitter in the Air

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapters song is Glitter in the Air, by Pink.

****_Have you ever fed a lover with just your hands?_  
Close your eyes and trust it, just trust it  
Have you ever thrown a fist full of glitter in the air?  
Have you ever looked fear in the face  
And said I just don't care?

Bree was aware, somewhere in the back of her mind, of a roar. It had be proceeded by a command, she thought. "Bruce, we need you!" Then the static of Bruce taking out his ear piece, then the roar. Her mind couldn't reconcile the events as related, but knew the order they had occurred in

She sat on the floor, hugging her knees and her staff to her chest, staring at the blood ooze from the small cut on Drake's temple. Another roar. Screaming. Thunder. The fight was being fought around her, but she couldn't move.

She could only sit and stare at him. The rise and fall of his back with his shallow breathing. And that damn little trickle of blood. Now traveling across his eye.

Was he really as tragic as he acted? Was not killing him the correct course of action? Would killing him have made her no better than him? She thought all this, yet felt nothing. She was all out of emotion, she could only watch now.

She registered somewhere that it had gone quiet. Men in suits approached her and she reacted. Swinging blindly from her position on the floor until the retreated. She would sit vigil here. That was her current task. She would sit this vigil until it all made sense.

A blue mask and familiar blue eyes swam in front of her vision. She swung again but the mask caught it. Then the mask was gone, she saw a kind face and concerned blue eyes.

"Steve?" she whispered. His mouth moved but she heard nothing. "What?" she asked.

Steve's eyes widened in confusion and shock. But he gestured to her arm, and gently helped her up and led her away.

The car drove her to someplace warm and familiar. Her last conscious thought was that it smelled like home. She was asleep before her head hit the pillow.

 **** _And it's only half past the point of no return_  
The tip of the iceberg  
The sun before the burn  
The thunder before the lightning  
Breath before the phrase  
Have you ever felt this way?  


Bree woke abruptly from a strange dream, and felt a weird sensation of déjà vu. She was home, in the bed she had shared with her husband. Waking up after a long sleep. A year and a half ago, she had lived this same reality.  _Timothy it was you I dreamed about. It's all over,_  she thought to herself.  _It's all over and I've lived to tell about. And I finished it here. Full circle._

She wondered out to her living room to find Bruce sitting on the couch. He hastily put down a photo album with a guilty look.

"How long was I out?" Bree asked, pretending not to notice.

"Three days," Bruce answered, sounding relived not to get caught. "Steve's been frantic. I should call him, he wanted to be here…"

"Bruce," Bree interrupted, her dream about Timothy giving her a new conviction. "I think I need to do something, while we're here. And I need to do it alone."

"What are you talking about? What are you planning?" Bruce sounded worried.

"Relax. I need to say good-bye, Bruce. It's meaningful that I fought Drake here. The universe is telling me something…" Bree trailed off.

"OK, what do we need to do?" Bruce asked, happy she was finally ready to move on and willing to do anything to help.

"Take your boys, and go back home."

"Bree, I can't do that. Steve would…"

"Get over it eventually, once he knows it's what I wanted." Bree interrupted. "I'll come back to New York when I'm done. I need to, I don't know how to say it, but I guess I need to close up shop here. Tell everyone and everything goodbye so I can start new someplace else."

"Alright, I'll tell them. But not too long, there's been no living with Cap the last three days. I can't imagine how he'll be waiting for you to come home." Bruce teased. Bree smiled in acknowledgement. He was standing in her living room calling some other place home, and he was right. And Cap, she'd cross that bridge soon, but not today. Today was for a different and far more difficult task.

Bree got into her old car and drove to the cemetery that night. She found the place empty, just as she had planned.

"Hello, baby." She said walking up to a grave stone. She silently traced the lettering. Timothy Sullivan. March 17th 1983- June 25th 2012. Bree knelt in front of the stone, and starting talking to him.

"I dreamed about you last night Timothy. You came to me in my damn dreams, just like you always joked you would. You held me and told me to let go. But how can I do that? We had dreams! I was having your baby! I lost everything I ever wanted that day! I still want all that. I want the love of my life; I want to start a family with him. But I can't. I told you all this last night. And you held me. You kissed my head and calmed me down and told me to move on."

"You started talking about Steve. You told me you knew, and that it was OK That you wanted me to be happy, to have the life I lost when you died. I could love him, I think I really want to. But I can't yet because I still love you. I tried to explain, but you told me I had to say goodbye. So I'm here, doing what you said because I love you. I always will, but you were right. It's time now. I have to get on with my life, a year and a half may not seem so long, Timothy, but if you could see what I've done. I've lived a lifetime fighting for you."

Bree dug a small hole at the base of the gravestone. She quietly took off her wedding bands and buried them. "There" she said wiping her eyes. "The girl you married stays with you, but I need to start living again. I love you Timothy, forever."

Over the next few days, Bree felt like she was living with a sort of lightness. Saying good bye to Timothy seemed to have freed her.

She packed up her apartment, and sent the boxes to New York. She met with Robert to say goodbye, she thanked him and promised to stay in touch. They both knew she wouldn't. She was leaving her past behind. She even went into her old school, where she had taught and helped kids see a way of life without gangs.. She spoke to her principle, explained what she could and got a letter of recommendation. Thinking vaguely that she might start teaching again. She even ran into a few old girl friends. They convinced her to meet up with them later that night to have a few drinks.

She didn't know Steve hadn't gone back to New York, until he showed up at the bar. Bree's friend leaned close to her and whispered "Who is _that?_ "

Bree glanced around casually and almost dropped her drink when she saw Steve walk up to the bar and order a beer " _That_ is Captain Steve Rodgers, former army." Bree said, shaking her head. "He's a friend from New York."

"Wow, you've kept that a secret." Her friend murmured, Bree shrugged. While her back was turned, some guy came over and placed his beer on the girls table. He leaned with his back to them. The girls exchanged glances. "Maybe he's taking his coat off?" one suggested.

Then his friend came over and did the same thing, this one practically leaning onto Bree's lap. "Maybe they'll move after this play." Bree suggested, gesturing at the TV across from them, and checked to be sure Steve wasn't looking. Bree had a feeling he'd overreact.

The girls waited uncomfortably, until the TV switched to a commercial. Bree sighed and tapped the man closest to her "Ummm, excuse me. You're standing kind of close can you step away a bit?" Bree asked, trying for a sweet voice.

"Wow, " the guy grumbled, snatching his beer and mumbling to his friend.

"This good enough?" the friend asked.

"Better, but if you could move around the other side so I can't see you, that'd be great." Bree snapped, her temper rising.

"I'm sorry, ladies, but are these guys bothering you?" came a familiar voice behind her.

The look on the men's faces was priceless. "No man, no trouble, we were too close to their table. We're leaving."

Bree turned in time to watch a slow smile come to Steve's face as he watched the men leave the bar.

"Steven!" She teased. "I totally had that handled!"

Steve's eyes lit up at Bree's teasing tone of voice as he replied, "Sorry, ma'am. I'll be more careful next time."

Bree smiled and hugged him, then introduced him to her old friends. She decided then that it was time to leave. After more goodbyes, and empty promises to keep in touch, she and Steve left.

Outside, Bree stopped under a street light and looked up at Steve. Maybe it was the alcohol, or the high she'd been feeling after saying a final goodbye to her old life, or maybe it was both. But Bree suddenly knew what had to happen next. She reached up and lightly stroked Steve's face with her fingertips

He caught her hand, "Bree, look…" he started.

Bree placed a finger in his lips to quiet him. Then she stretched up onto her tip-toes, and kissed him.

 **** _Have you ever wished for an endless night?_  
Lassoed the moon and the stars and pulled that rope tight  
Have you ever held your breath and asked yourself  
Will it ever get better than tonight?  
Tonight


	8. I won't Give Up

**_I had to learn what I've got, and what I'm not  
And who I am._ **

**_I won't give up on us  
Even if the skies get rough  
I'm giving you all my love  
I'm still looking up  
Still looking up...  
I won't give up on us  
God knows I'm tough enough  
We've got a lot to learn_ **

****_God knows we're worth it_

When they kissed it was like the world stopped. There in the middle of the street, no one existed but them. Bree was flooded by the contradictions in sensations. His soft lips on hers, as his light stubble of facial hair scratched her face. The hard muscles of his shoulders as she ran her hands up to his soft hair. His strong arms, and the gentle way they pulled her close. It was the kiss of a life time, the kind poets write about. After a moment that seemed like a life time Steve pulled away.

Bree looked up at him with stars in her eyes. No kiss she had ever had could compare with this one. "Wow," she breathed, her hand moving involuntary to touch her lips.

Steve smiled at her, her smile. Open and without expectation. "Yeah," he replied.

"At least we can be sure Tony didn't eavesdrop on that..." Bree joked.

"So what if he had?" Steve returned. "I do plan on doing it again, with your permission of course." He added with a grin, Bree's breath caught in her throat. This was not her smile, this little smirk was…sexy. And if made her stop and think. Did she want to kiss him again? Yes, and often she answered herself. But did she want Tony to know? No, no she did not want to Tony to find out. Just the thought of how much listening in on them he would do…

The smirk fell from Steve's face as he watched her speculative expression. He about to ask what was wrong when Bree finally said something.

"Tony can't know" She blurted, moving closer to him.

"What? Why?" Steve questioned, wrapping his arms around her.

"Seriously, Steve? He'll be awful! If you think for a second we'll have any privacy…" Burying her head into his chest

"Whoa, slow down. Tony won't be that bad. I mean I know he tends to listen in on conversations…" He unconsciously started rubbing her back to calm her down.

"Yeah, only the juicy ones! Trust me, anything we have to say to each other will be considered juicy!" Bree exclaimed, pulling back to look up at him.

This gave Steve pause. "Maybe you're right. But I hate the thought of having to sneak around." He said, reaching out to tuck back a piece of her hair.

"Just for a little while, Steve." Bree promised, grabbing his hand and lightly kissing his palm before releasing it.

Steve then realized that, even though she had said goodbye, Bree still needed a little more time. He nodded his agreement, and leaned down to kiss her again.

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Steve refused to stay over at Bree's apartment that night.  _Silly, old fashioned manners_ , Bree laughed to herself after he left. She found he was too hyped up to sleep and spent a few hours packing up the last of her things. Tomorrow, she'd go to New York with Steve. She smiled as she finally got ready for bed. She couldn't wait to see him again.

Bree and Steve spent a golden week sneaking around Stark Tower. Stealing kisses in empty rooms, and touching as much as possible in public. They found every excuse to be near each other. Both floating on the fact that no one had noticed. Bree felt like a teenager again.

They had a few close calls, mostly by Stark employees and one notable time by Bruce. Thinking he was in his lab as usually they had snuck into his private living area. In mid-kiss, Bruce had walked out of his bedroom. After some deep breathing to recover from the surprise of finding two people were they shouldn't be, he turned and loudly slammed his bedroom door. Bree and Steve jumped apart.

" Um, hey Bruce! Steve and I were just talking... see you later!" Bree said, and ran off. Steve looked at Bruce and shrugged in response to his raised eyebrow, before leaving to follow her.

"Hey Steve!" Bruce called after him. "I made sure Tony had no access to my rooms. Just make sure I'm not here first, the next time."

Steve smiled and nodded at him, quickly apologizing for hurrying to catch up with Bree. He was sure to make use of Bruce's room after that, but he always checked the lab first.

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Bruce noticed a difference in Bree as soon as she wandered into his lab.  _Well, it might help that I saw Cap pull her into that office earlier today, and that the two of them are forever sneaking into my room. Oh God, she actually has a twinkle in her eye and a bounce in her step._ He thought before greeting Bree.

"Hey Bruce!" She said cheerily. She looked away quickly when Bruce shot her a speculative look.

"You're awful happy today." He remarked, trying to hold back his grin.

"Yup, just happy to be back! Saying bye to everything at home was, cathartic. It really was, is Steve around?"

"No, not yet. I can't imagine he'll be long though." Bruce replied.

"Oh, yeah good…" Bree trailed off. "Have you seen Tony around?"

"I think he's in his private workshop. Ironman stuff…" Bruce explained, trying not to smile and to seem disinterested.

"OK, I'll... um... talk to you later then…" she said hurrying off; knowing Tony was usually completely distracted when working on his suits. She barely missed Bruce burst into laughter as she left. "JARVIS, do you know where Cap…

She was interrupted by a set of string arms pulling her into an empty room

"Steve!" She cried. "You scared me!"

"I wish I could say I was sorry, but I'm not." He teased and leaned in to kiss her. It was short and sweet. Then he was explaining to her that he had to leave. SHIELD was sending him and Tony off to investigate another gang.

"I can't come?"

"They didn't think you'd want to, know that…"

"Now that Drake is taken care of". She finished for him,

"His trail is coming up. I think they want to talk to you about it. So don't be surprised if the approach you while we're gone." Steve explained

"How long will you be gone?"

"A few days…"

Bree stared at him in silence. He was leaving to go fight, and she was staying behind. They'd only been here together for a week and already she was faced with how hard this could be.

"What's wrong, sweetheart" he asked, noticing her concern.

She smiled softly at his use of a pet name, she liked it. She sighed and answered him. "I don't want you to go off and fight. Well, at least without me with you." Steve started to reassure her, but Bree interrupted him. "Don't, Steve. I know exactly how much danger you'll be in. I was there with you. We didn't really win last time, did we? HYDRA is still out to get you?"

Steve gave her a sad sort of smile. "Yes, SHIELD thinks they are. Drake was an important take down, but not the only one. We have more fights before we're done."

"I don't think I can do this..." Bree trailed off, thinking about sitting around and waiting for Steve to come home. She wanted to get back out there. She thought about something Phil had said to her the first time they met in Rob's house.

_"People don't like your kind of justice. You get the man who killed you husband, then what? Disappear? Leave them open to the next gang boss to come in? Leave other families to be broken up?"_

He had been right after all. She couldn't give this up and leave other people to suffer like she did. She had to keep fighting. She glanced up to see Steve looking panicky.

"Oh No! Steve baby no! I didn't mean this!" She explained gesturing between them. "I meant the fight, baby."

"It's not your fight, not anymore."

"But it is." Steve shook his head at her. "No, Steve, it is. If they're after you then then they have a fight with me too. I have no intentions of losing you. Not for a very long time."

Steve pulled her close. "Bree…Sweetheart... I want to stay around for you, too, more then you know. I...I think I...I lo…"

"Hey you two crazy kids, whatcha doin'?" Tony interrupted, bursting into the door as Bree and Steve awkwardly jumped apart.

"Cap, Fury is looking for you. I had to stop him from calling JARVIS to find you. I thought you might be doing something…uh-hum... private…" Tony explained.

They both looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to leave. When he didn't Steve sighed quietly and squeezed Bree's hand "I'll find you as soon as I get back." He smiled and left to report to the director.

"You're an asshole, Stark" Bree snapped, glaring at him as he smirked. Then she sighed and asked "How did you know?"

"You two have not been nearly as clandestine this past week as you think you've been. And, if you're really willing to keep fighting, I'll help you convince SHIELD, and Cap. Both are going to be pretty hard sells."

"You were listening!" Tony smirked again and turned to leave the room.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I ended up rethinking a major plot point that I found I couldn't follow through on. So it was a little sticky, writing this one, so it's a bit wordy in places.
> 
> I forgot to add last time, that song was Jason Marz- I won't give up. This week it's Elton John's- I Want Love. If you've never seen the video, you're in for a cool surprise. Go watch it now. I'll wait here with the story!

**_A man like me is dead in places  
Other men feel liberated_ **

**_I can't love, shot full of holes  
Don't feel nothing, I just feel cold  
Don't feel nothing, just old scars  
Toughening up around my heart_ **

****_Me, I carry too much baggage_  
Oh man I've seen so much traffic

  
**_So bring it on, I've been bruised_ **   
**_Don't give me love that's clean and smooth_ **   
**_I'm ready for the rougher stuff_ **   
**_No sweet romance, I've had enough_ **   


Steve left almost immediate after Tony had interrupted him and Bree in the empty office. He had a lot on his mind, and it didn't help that Tony kept looking over and smirking at him.

"What?" Steve finally asked, after the umpteenth smirk.

Tony shook his head and smirked at him again. "You are totally hung up on this girl, aren't, you?"

"What? I…I...Yeah, I guess I am." Steve stammered, looking confused

"Ha!" Tony laughed. "Of course you are. Tried telling her, Cap?"

"Yeah, I-I did. But she…"Steve mumbled and trailed off. This conversation was making him uncomfortable.

Tony laughed. "Yeah, I know what happened then. I interrupted you. Look, buddy, you don't just tell a girl you love her in the middle of a fight. I did you a favor, trust me."

"We weren't fighting…"

"Yeah, you were. Listen to me; I have a bit of experience here. If you had told her just then, she would have doubted it eventually. She would have thought you said it to convince her not to go back into the fight."

"Yeah I guess you may be right, I never had the chance in the past…" Steve trailed off. "Wait…you were listening?"

After they left, Bree stomped into Dr. Banner's lab and flopped down on an office chair.

"Hey, Doc."

"Hello, Bree," Bruce said, not looking up from his work.

"Whatcha doin?" Bree asked in a sing song voice.

"Something for Tony"

"Oh," Bree sighed and snuggled down a bit in to the chair

"Anything I can help you with?" Bruce asked, glancing up at her sigh

"No," Bree said. "Dammit Bruce, I'm not used to this."

Bruce's head snapped toward her, surprised art her sudden and contradictory outburst "Used to what?"

"Feeling so, so…I don't know… so…"

"Helpless?" Bruce supplied.

"Yeah. I guess I got used to helping. I'm not used to sitting around and waiting for a man to come home…anymore…" Bree mused, thinking of Timothy again. Anxious nights waiting for him to get home from his detail. Then the night she thought was harmless and he never came home. "I actually hate this waiting around…."

Bruce nodded sympathetically. "I know the feeling. Thankfully, when the Other Guy isn't needed Tony tends to give me some time consuming project to concentrate on until they get back."

Bree gave him a small smile. "Wow, maybe Tony is more considerate then I thought."

"He's not really the guy everyone thinks he is". Bruce agreed. "He's actually been pretty supportive of Cap, recently."

"Recently, huh? I swear if Steve is coming down here…"

"Hey, give the guy a break Bree. He really is pretty clueless."

"We were fighting before they left," Bree blurted. "I think he was going to tell me he loved me, Bruce. I'm not sure I'm ready for all that. I mean, we've been back in New York for what, a week."

Bruce sighed. He removed his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose before answering. "Listen, this is a hard conversation for me to have with you. You're like my kid sister, so I guess here it goes. How do you feel about him, Bree? Leave everything else out. Your past, this fight you want to be a part of. Leave Steve's feelings out for a minute. Just think about how you feel."

Bree smirked awkwardly. She thought back to a similar conversation she had with Noah when she got serious with Timothy. He had asked her outright if she loved him. When she answered positively, he had grimaced and hugged her, promising pain to him if he ever hurt her. The memory hit her so forcefully she started to tear up.

Bruce put both hands up, "Look if I was off base I'm sorry, I just thought…":

"No, Bruce, it's just... you reminded me a lot of Noah just then. If I didn't know you better, I'd think you were about to promise to send the Hulk after Steve if he ever hurt me." She teased.

Bruce smiled a bit sadly at her, and then prompted, "You didn't answer me."

Bree sighed and turned away closing her eyes. She put everything out of her mind. Timothy, her family, HYDRA, the baby she lost. If she had met Steve without any of that, what would she feel?

She opened her eyes suddenly and slowly turned to face Bruce "If I met Steve Rodgers, and if there had been no such thing as superheroes or secret organizations or tragic pasts, I think I would have loved him immediately. But those things do exist in our life. I can't put then aside, outside of the hypothetical. I think I could love him, maybe. But he deserves someone whole Bruce. I'm too broken for him. He deserves that shiny new first love. You can only have that once and I already have. Plus, we've been together a week. It's crazy to talk about love…"

"No," Bruce interrupted, "you've got the timing off you're being too literal. You've fought side by side with him for months. You learn a lot about people like that. And, how do you know that he doesn't feel the same way you do? Hasn't he ever mentioned Peggy?"

Bree paused her ranting and tough about what Bruce said "Who's Peggy? He never told me about her…"

"Your relationship with him will be different than your relationship with Timothy or his with Peggy. No better, no worse, just different. Ask him about her." Bruce rushed to assure her. "It's possible to love two people in one life time Bree, and I think you realize that now. The question is, what are you going to do about it?" He asked

"Well, he's crazy if he thinks for a minute he's running into battle without me again. I will not sit around and wait anymore. I-I have to be with him. I love him too much to let him fight alone." She whispered. "I have to talk to Fury…"

They were interrupted by JARVIS "Excuse, but Director Fury left a message for Bree. He would like to meet with you regarding the trail of one Drake Schmidt. Is one hour from now feasible, miss?"

"Yes JARVIS, thank you."

"Ask and ye shall receive," joked Bruce.

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Bree arrived at The Director's office precisely one hour later, wearing her best and most business like outfit. She smiled to herself remembering some of her mother's old advice  _Dress for the job you want._

She was still grinning when the SHEILD agent opened the door for her and schooled her features into a serious expression as she was shown in to speak to Fury.

"MS Sullivan." He greeted, casually observing to see if the name still made her flinch. To his relief, it didn't

"Director Fury," She returned his greeting. "And please, just Bree or I suppose MS Barnes if you must. I think I've finally laid Bree Sullivan to rest." She candidly explained to him.

Fury nodded something that looked to Bree like satisfaction is his eye. "I called you in to brief you about Drake Schmidt's trail…"

"Will I have to testify?" She interrupted eyes wide and concerned.

"No, the trial is over."

"Wow that was…"

"Quick yes, being a secret government agency does have its perks. We expedited the trail, and with video evidence of your fight with him and mountain of strange coincidence that Agents Barton and Romanov uncovered, it was more than enough to put him away for a very long time."

Bree let out a sigh of relief while Fury continued to study her. "It's over now, Bree Barnes," he continued. "You are free to go back to your life. Agent Coulson will handle all the practical arrangements." He finished, turning back to the stack of files on his desk.

"I'm not done yet," Bree blurted out.

"Excuse me?"

She took a deep breath and continued calmly. "I'm not done yet, sir. Steve and Tony left today for another fight, and I wanted to go with them. Drake may be gone, but the fight is still going on. I'd like to help ensure no other families have to live through the same loses I did." She explained.

Fury nodded slowly. "And have you discussed this with Captain Rodgers?"

"Does everyone seriously know?" She sighed. "Yes, but we don't exactly see eye to eye on the subject sir."

"I see. I understand your position. I am, however, concerned your feelings for each other would interfere with the task at hand and jeopardize everyone's safety." He calmly explained. "Convince him, and you'll convince me."

"Alright, sir. I'll be waiting for the information on the next fight." She said confidently standing to take her leave.

Director Fury nodded his dismissal, smiling to himself over Bree's confidence as she returned to his paperwork.

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Word came the next day that Steve and Tony had finished their mission quicker than expected and were returned home the following day. When the finally arrived, Bree was pacing the shared living area waiting for them.

"Steve!" She cried and ran to him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and stood to tip toe to kiss him. She vaguely heard his shield clatter to the ground as his arms found their way around her waist to support her. Bruce's loud "AH-HEM!" broke them apart.

"Sorry," Steve apologized, blushing as he let go of Bree and leaned down to pick up his shield. Bruce shook his head at them and nudged Tony to get him to stop talking before he started.

Then he said suddenly "Well, you too have a lot to talk about. See you in a bit!" He left, practically dragging a bemused Tony out with him.

"Wow, that wasn't obvious at all," Steve observed. "What do we have to talk about?"

Bree sighed. "I had hoped to get in a bit more kissing before this conversation." She joked, then seeing Steve's concerned look she added seriously. "I went to see Fury the other day. Drake's trail is over; he was found guilty of a myriad of things and sent away for a long while."

"What else did you talk to Fury about?" Steve insisted. Bree could have shared the outcome of Drake's trial with everyone; she obviously had more to say.

Bree paused and thought abut were to start. "Why haven't you ever mentioned Peggy to me?"

Steve stared back at her. "What's to mention? She was my first girlfriend, sort of. I crashed into the ice before our 1st date."

"Did you love her?"

Steve's snapped his face in her direction, and then lowered his eyes in thought. "Yes, I think I did. Like I said, we didn't have a real relationship, we fought together. Back then I had thought that, after the war, we would probably find a way to be together." He explained, Bree frowned at the sadness evident in his voice.  _Bruce, you were right. This is going to be harder than either of us would have thought._ She thought

"Thank you for telling me the truth Steve."

"What about Timothy?" He asked.

Bree smiled sadly, she had expected him to ask. In light of his honesty she answered in kind. "I loved him, very much. With Tim, it was all so new and bright and exciting. It was quick and easy to love him. Then, all of a sudden, it was all over. Everything was gone. I had nothing left." She reached out and took Steve's hand. And took a deep breath before continuing. "I talked to Fury about something else too."

Steve seemed startled by the sudden change of topic, but Bree was determined to get through all this as fast as possible. "I want back into the fight Steve. Fury will only allow it if I can convince you. I don't want anyone else to hurt like I have. I want to stop this whole HYDRA organization from breaking up other families like it did mine. They took my past, and I don't want them to do the same to my future"

Steve gripped her hand tighter, looked at her. Her eyes stilled showed the ghosts of her past. "Ok," He said slowly. Part of him hoping that his agreement would help ease even a little of her pain the other part ecstatic that she saw him in her future "Ok, I agree. I think I couldn't really keep you out of it anyway."

Steve exited the living area a while later, smiling still from the kiss Bree gave him after he agreed, only to walk right into Dr. Banner.

"Hey Doc, what's up?" He asked, noticing Bruce's serious expression and the book he was carrying.

"I need to show you this. I got it from Bree's apartment after the fight with Drake. Maybe I should let her tell you, but I doubt she ever will. And if the two of you will ever work out, you need to know." Bruce explained as he led Steve to his private rooms and handed him the book that turned out to be a photo album.

The first page was a picture of a young girl, about 12. It could only be Bree. But something was different, Steve looked closer. There was a light shining in her eyes that Steve had no idea was even missing. He flipped a few more pages to see pictures of the child Bree with her family. The same bright light shining in her.

"This is the Bree I remember," Bruce sadly explained. "I was shocked the 1st time I saw her again. It was like all the life had gone out of her."

Steve paused to listen then kept flipping. The next pages had obituaries tucked inside. Her father and Brother. A few pictures of her in this section showed her mourning. Sad but recovering. Next page a picture of her and a tall man with red hair and bright green eyes.

"Timothy." Steve breathed. He had one arm wrapped around Bree's shoulder and the other hand protectively placed on her stomach. Bree had never looked as alive as she did in the picture. The photo on the next page almost made Steve drop the book.

"I know she's talked about the baby she lost, but I guess I just never…" Steve said

Bruce smiled sadly and finished for him, gently tapping the blurry ultrasound picture. "…connected it to a real baby, I know." Bruce quietly turned the next page. There was a newspaper clipping there that he had found and added. He explained this to Steve handing him the picture. Bree was sitting on a bench, staring into space, a vacant, dead look in her eyes. "From her husband's funeral." Bruce said sadly, taking it from him and tucking it back away.

"Why? Why did you show me this?" Steve asked, still disturbed by the last picture and trying to process everything.

Bruce frowned guiltily. "To have a future with her, you need to know her past, all of it. You have to know what she lost, what she fought for, what she's still fighting for."

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With Steve convinced, Fury sent Bree some files on her new marks the next day. She had a lot of catching up to do. She read the files and trained with her new staff while she waited for the call. With Timothy's fight over she no longer felt right using his weapon and had taken SHEILD up on their offer for a new one. It was thing of beauty, her new staff. Feather light and perfectly weighted it seemed to almost respond to her thoughts as opposed to her actions.

When the call came she suited up and met Steve on the jet. She smiled lightly at his nervously tapping foot and found she could easily slip back into her calm fighting mind when focused on the task. The fight that followed was fast and furious. Bree kept to her usually tactic of staying in the shadows and waiting for the perfect moment. It seemed to still work, she jumped in gracefully and took out two men with one swing. The new staff worked like a charm. She brought it up high and sliced and down, hitting another. A swing to the left took out more men, and to the right still more. She reached up high over her head, not realizing how exposed the move made her.

She heard Steve's warning a moment too late. A hot, sharp pain hit her in her unprotected ribs. Her staff clattered to the ground as her hands flew to her wound. Blood seeped through her fingers as Steve reached her.

"They shot me, baby." She whispered, before her world went black.

"Bree!" Steve shouted. "No Bree, open your eyes! NO Bree, please. OPEN YOUR EYES!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again, any figure out the plot point I bailed on yet? Also, the video, did ya watch it? Go Google it, Elton John- I want Love Official Video. trust me, it's worth it! Well, let me know what you think!


	10. Call and Answer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First off, did we all go watch Robert Downy Jr. in the Elton John- I Want Love video from last week? The song is about 10 or 11 years old I think, but still full of awesome. So, this is short-ish one, with the song Call and Answer, by Bare-naked Ladies Enjoy!

****_If you call I will answer_  
And if you fall I will pick you up  
And if you court this disaster  
I'll point you home  
I'll point you home

Tony sat quietly off to the side, trying to not to overhear what Steve was whispering into Bree's ear.

"Please stay with me. I need you, Bree."

Bree had become like a sister to them all. But Bruce especially. How was he going to tell Bruce?

"Bree, Sweetheart, can you hear me? I love you Bree, stay with me please."

He contacted JARVIS, asked him to get Bruce to a safe place. He might not be able to keep control when he got the news.

"You said something the other day, about not wanting to let HYDRA take your future away. They won't, I'm still here. I'll do anything, just please stay with me."

He would be sure to tell Bruce himself. He didn't know how to do it, but he would. Only Tony could give him this news in any kind of easy way.

"I love you Bree. P-Please don't go. I love you. I-I need you. Please."

Tony looked away when Cap's voice broke, he couldn't watch the man cry. It was too much, too final a feeling. How the hell was he going to tell Bruce?

When the jet landed, a medical crew was already waiting to whisk Bree away. A nurse asked Steve to step away, but one look at the superhero's face stopped her. You can stay, she assured him. He never let go of her hand as they practically ran to the emergency hospital room SHIELD had set up.

"JARVIS, where's Bruce?" Tony asked quietly.

"In your private lab, sir. It's in the basement; I thought it'd be the safest place." Even his AI sounded sad to Tony.

"That should be fine, thank you." Tony replied and made his way downstairs. Bruce looked up and smiled when he walked in.

"Hey Tony! Welcome back, How did…" his question died on his lips as soon as he saw Tony's face. Something terrible had happened. That's why JARVIS insisted he go underground. So his reaction couldn't hurt anyone "Who?" he asked, part of him already knowing the answer.

Tony took a deep breath, and started talking fast. "Bree. She was shot in the side. It doesn't look good. Cap is with her now. Why the hell did I never think to make her armor?" He added at the end, as an afterthought.

Bruce pulled in a deep breath. Not Bree. Hadn't she been through enough? Not her, her fight was over. She was just trying to help other people. He felt the rage rolling through him, coursing through his veins "Leave Tony, and lock the door. I'll find you, after." He instructed softly

"No, big guy," Tony answered. "You shouldn't be alone."

"Get out," Bruce yelled; it sounded more like a roar.

Tony flipped down the face plate of his suit." I'm staying," he said. "So neither one of us has to be alone." He finished to himself

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About an hour later, Bruce and Tony joined Steve in Bree's hospital room. Bruce almost lost it again, seeing all the tubes and machines Bree was hooked up to.

Steve looked up briefly as they entered and tonelessly began to fill them in on her condition. "She lost a lot of blood, so they started a transfusion. Her lung collapsed, but they were able to do something to fix it. So, she's been able to breathe on her own. They tell me that's a good sign."

Tony was frozen in the corner staring at the blinking and beeping machines, so Bruce responded "It is Cap, it is." He assured him. The three men sat in silence for a while watching her chest rise and all with each breath.

It was Steve who finally broke their silence. He suddenly burst out. "What am I going to do? Why her? When will everyone I love stop dying on me?"

Tony jerked around to look at him. "Don't talk like that. There is still a chance she might make it." He snapped

Steve responded with a humorless chuckle and Tony grunted at him and left the room. Bruce stayed as long as he could handle, which was not long, before he left to calm himself back down. Steve was alone with her again. He leaned down to kiss her forehead and whispered in her ear "Please wake up sweetheart. I need you to, we all need you to. I love you and I don't think I can do this without you. We're all crusaders after all, remember?"

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The next morning, the same nurse who had told Steve he could stay, took pity on him again. She walked in to find him bent over Bree's bedside, his forehead touched her hand. She walked over quietly and grasped his shoulder.

"Keep talking to her. Keep telling her you love her. She'll hear you, and she'll fight for you." She gently told him. Then she checked on the machines and left.

Steve straightened up slowly and watched her work, then leave. "Can you hear me?" He asked quietly. "I love you."

They came in later that day and forced Steve to leave for a few hours "Cap, Your still in uniform. Go. Shower, eat something, get some sleep." Bruce explained.

"We'll stay with her and call you if anything changes." Tony promised. Steve looked down at his red, white, and blue clad chest and reluctantly agreed.

Bree's hand jerked minutely.  _What's going on? Who was that? Don't leave me!_  She struggled through the darkness, trying to speak. Every time she got close to the light, a sharp pain pushed her back. She heard whispers. Men she should have known, telling her to fight. Telling her not to let go, to hold on, to open her eyes.  _I'm trying! It's to hard, just now. I'm so tired._

Sometime later, maybe an minute, maybe an hour, maybe a day. Bree heard another voice. "I love you," it said. "Come back to me."

The voice and the words worked like a tonic. Bree struggled against the dark. She was so close, but God did it hurt so much. She instinctively retreated from the pain, curling her body slightly.

She heard a gasp, the voice called out for others. She felt cool fingers in her wrist, light pressure on her chest. What sounded like a hundred voices rose in a din around her. One voice sounded close to her ear. "Wake up, Bree. We're all here now, waiting for you. I love you, please wake up."

Bree groaned and shifted. Slowly opening her eyes she mumbled. "I love you too, Steve."

The room seemed impossibly bright, but as her eyes adjusted she made out the members of her team. People she had fought with, all there to see her. Tony leaning almost causally on the door frame, Bruce in a chair in the corner holding his glasses, Thor in the opposite corner with his arms crossed over his chest. And Steve. Sitting in a chair close to the side of her bed, tightly holding her hand.

"By Odin, I knew it was not your time. You have many years to fight, young one, before the Valkyrie come to you. " Thor spoke first. Bree heard Tony chuckle lightly and smiled, somehow Thor always said just the thing she needed to hear. She glanced at him briefly, and then turned to Steve.

"Hey Steve." She said trying to move her arm out to him. She lifted it about two inches before she dropped back down with a thud and a groan. Everything hurt.

"It's OK, it's OK, don't move love, don't move." Steve fussed, leaning down to kiss her on the forehead.

Bree grinned again and whispered. "I love you, Steve." He smiled and kissed her again

"God, get a room!" Tony snarked from the door way.

Bree moved her head, with some effort, to face him. She was prepared to give a witty retort, but never did. "Jesus, Stark. Are you crying?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here's the thing, ya know that plot point I told you about that I backed out on? Well, if you didn't figure it out, Bree wasn't suppose to wake up. This was a very sad story originally, but I ended up liking Bree a bit more then planned. And I can't kill her. Girls been through enough, amirite? Let me know what you think, as I'm not to sure how I feel about this chapter.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah, last chapter. they'll be an epilogue up soon to, if anyone is interested. Let me know what you think?
> 
> This weeks song is Blessed Union of Souls- I want to Be There.

****_Won't you let me catch your fall_  
Won't you let me lend a hand  
These lonely eyes have seen it all  
But love's too blind to understand  
Cause you don't know what you have  
'Till your everything is gone  
You need someone to show you how to live again

Bree's recovery went smoothly, but not as quickly as she would have liked. To her surprise, no one was giving any resistance to her fighting again. At least not out loud. Every time the subject came up, Steve got a strange look on his face, like he had just smelled sour milk. He insisted that she wait until a medical team completely cleared her, and Tony and Bruce insisted she wait until they finished with the armor they were making her. Bree agreed to this. The armor wasn't as easy as they had expected. Most known materials left her feeling constricted; she had to be able to move. This particular day, 2 months after the incident, she was standing on a stool in Tony's private lab, while he measured and fitted her with the latest  _thing_  he and Bruce had thought up.

Tony insisted he hadn't been crying the day she woke up. "Just dust and allergies. JARVIS, have this area thoroughly cleaned please. No allergens allowed in hospital rooms!" He had insisted. Now, he was working obsessively on this new armor. Bruce told her a few weeks ago that he felt responsible for what happened, that he should have thought to make some sort of protection for her. She was smiling lightly at these thoughts when Steve walked in.

He took one look at her and swallowed hard. "What are you wearing?" He blurted out.

Bree laughed softly. "Like them? I got them for you!" She held out a leg clad in navy blue leggings dotted all over with tiny pictures of his shield. "The top matches!" She gestured excitedly at the red, white, and blue shield in the middle of the matching sport bra. Steve swallowed hard again, while Bruce turned away to hide a smile.

Tony laughed out right as he started to fit pieces over Bree's right side. The material the used was flexible and soft, but tests showed it could stop a bullet and absorb shock from blunt objects. He was still shaking his head as he moved around to her left side and stopped. There was the puckered scar from the bullet. Tony reached out mindlessly and gently poked it.

Bree hissed and pulled away. "Easy Tony, I'm ticklish"

"Knock it off, Stark." Steve snapped

"Easy there, big fella. Just fitting her for her armor."

"Don't you want a t-shirt or something?" Steve asked quietly, and somewhat desperately.

Even Bruce laughed out loud that time. Bree shushed and shook her at him. "It needs to fit close to my body, Babe. Otherwise it'll be too cumbersome or restrictive." She explained. "Besides, Brice is like a brother and Tony's actually been a perfect gentleman."

Tony let a finger graze her stomach to test Steve's reaction, and raised an eyebrow at him from behind Bree as she giggled. He smirked when Steve's face got red and he cleared his throat as she wiggled slightly to get away.

"And honestly Steve, we train together all the time and I always wear something similar."

"Yeah, but we're alone," Steve blurted, he and Bree both blushed. Remembering how many "training sessions", over the last month, didn't result in much training.

Tony nearly lost it. "In my gym! Seriously you two, that's a common area!"

Bruce took pity on them then, and shushed Tony. "Bree that should be all set. Go try it out."

"Hands to yourselves in my gym!" Tony yelled after them.

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Bree was impressed with new armor. It was practically weightless and she could move freely with it on. Steve watched her carefully during her workout. One, to admire the Captain America outfit, and two to watch her for signs of pain or early fatigue. He was very impressed, on both accounts.

"I think I'm ready." She told him afterwards. "The armor is perfect, and I felt like myself in the gym today."

Steve grinned at her. The sexy little smirk he saved for private conversations. "I'd say you were feeling better." He teased.

"Stop it," she teased back, slapping him playfully on the chest. "I meant the  _actual_  work out. And If I had known how you would be… I think I've created a monster. Tony is seriously gunna get pissed if we keep using his gym for, you know…"

Steve smiled, and blushed slightly thinking about the night she was talking about. It had been about a month ago, he was just so happy she was alive and feeling better that he couldn't keep his hands to himself. They had started in the gym, and ended up in his room. Steve was amazed to learn what he had been missing. He shook his head to clear his thoughts, and smiled at her as she took the armor off. "I'll go to Fury myself if you want. See what he has to say."

"Wow, big change from the man who refused to let me fight 2 month ago."

"I trust that armor. I watched them shoot bullets at it, and hit it with everything they could find. It never gave. It's an amazing thing." He explained.

Bree looked away while he was talking. Feeling a little emotional that the two scientists had gone to so much trouble for her. She turned back and smiled at Steve, maybe she was getting a second chance at the family she had wanted so much after all.

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Steve walked into Bruce's lab a few days later carrying a package. Bree was talking and laughing with Bruce, and it made Steve smile. He cleared his throat to get their attention.

Bree smiled and reached a hand out to him, which he grasped quickly and gave her a kiss before handing over the package he held. "I went to see Fury the other day, and he sent this this morning."

Bree looked from him to Bruce curiously and opened the box. In it were a stack of papers, a badge, and a suit. "I get a suit!" She exclaimed as she pulled it out. It seemed to be made of the same tight material as Cap's suit, and her armor was sewn expertly into the lining. It was black; the belt had a white star buckle. She smile and showed the belt to Steve, before reaching for the badge. "Special Agent Bree Barnes, Avenger's Initiative. Codename- Deathwish. Whose idea was that?"

Tony laughed as he came waltzing in. "Well, looks like the name stuck after all!"

He looked around at their faces. "Why so shocked? Come on, you must have realized I'd be listening!"

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A few months later, Bree stood next to Steve as they prepared to enter a location. She was already mentally planning her best route to her mark. Once they got the all clear, she dashed off into the shadows.

She made it to the mark's location, and sliced her staff though the air, quietly taking out the two guards. Inside was Albert Schmidt. Drake had finally given up his father's location in return for a severely shortened prison term. Bree paused for a moment to think. Down stairs the fight was raging. She could hear The Hulks roars, crashes of thunder, and the blasts from the Iron man suit. She felt rather then heard Cap and Barton and Romanov arrive behind her.

She grinned before she knocked down the door. Her personal fight was long over, but here she was. Surrounded by friends who had become family and a man who held the keys to her future. Finishing it now, together, to keep others from living through what she had. It may not be the life she had planned for herself, once upon a time. But it was a good life, a useful one. And she was happy to be finally living.


	12. Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, here we are at the end. The song is Home-by Philip Philips

****_Hold on, to me as we go_  
As we roll down this unfamiliar road  
And although this wave is stringing us along  
Just know you're not alone  
Cause I'm going to make this place your home

 **** _Settle down, it'll all be clear_  
Don't pay no mind to the demons  
They fill you with fear  
The trouble it might drag you down  
If you get lost, you can always be found

**_Just know you're not alone  
Cause I'm going to make this place your home_ **

They stood together in the back of the court room. Bree looked around at the seven of them, trying to be inconspicuous. Thor and Tony couldn't quiet pull it off. Thor looked around somewhat excitedly; with his build and the Asguardian outfit he insisted on wearing it was hard to go unnoticed. Tony was Tony Stark, making it impossible to blend in. Bree focused back on the trail. Albert Schmidt's litany of crimes was being read. Steve would occasionally squeeze her hand in distress and reassurance, but otherwise remained calm. When Schmidt was found guilty of trying to organize street gangs into a worldwide crime syndicate, Tony cheered out loud, Clint and Natasha nodded congratulations and disappeared, Thor thumped her on the back, Bruce hugged her, and Steve kissed her. For her part, Bree tried not to cry. She had shed blood, sweat and tears after this man, and was relieved to see him taken away in chains.

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About a month after the trail, Bree sat in the bathroom waiting out the longest three minutes of her life. She wondered to herself why she had never made any real girlfriends. The Black Widow was not someone you called in to hold your hand during a pregnancy scare. And she couldn't imagine Bruce be alright with helping her with this.

"Everything was going so well!" She moaned out loud. Steve and her relationship was strong, and moving steadily on to great things, Or so she thought. "Oh God, he's going to flip out!" Bree whispered as she watched then little plus sign slowly appear.

"SHIT! Shit shit shit!" She whined

"Hey language! What's going on in there?" Tony called from the other side of the door.

Bree shook her head. Not Tony, anyone but Tony. Why did she use the common bathroom! "I'm fine, Tony." She called back.

"Like hell!" he said. He had noticed Bree was off the last few days. And swearing from the bathroom was a bad sign. He was, after all, Tony Stark. "I am a genius, you know. And a playboy who may or may not have sent assistants out to buy home pregnancy tests. Fortunately, the girl has always thanked God, not started chain cursing."

Bree slowly opened the door, a shaking hand holding the positive test. "I hate you right now Tony. You and your god damn deductive reasoning skills. What are you, Sherlock Holmes or something?"

"Ah, only in my dreams!" he teased. "So, malztov! Can I be there when you tell Steve? Please, please, pretty please?"

"No Tony," Bree glared at him. "And JARVIS is not to listen in or record it, either!"

"Oh course not, Ms. Barnes." The AI responded.

"JARIVS! I'm hurt. Whatever I'll probably hear it anyway. He's going to flip!" Steve walked in then, and Tony laughed out right in his face before leaving. "You too crazy kids have fun now!"

Steve shook his head and turned to Bree. "Hey sweetheart. What's wrong? What are you holding?" he asked, noticing her distressed face and the small white object in her hand.

Bree took a deep breath. "Sit down Steve. I have some news." She began. He reached out and squeezed her hand encouragingly. She looked into his trusting blue eyes, and he smiled her smile. The one she fell in love with, open and free of expectations. She smiled slightly and slid the test over to him.

"What's this?"

"It's a pregnancy test."

"The plus means its…"

"Positive, yeah."

"So you're…"

"Pregnant, Steve."

That sat in silence for a while as Steve processed the news. He started to slowly nod his head, and looked over at her. "I know this isn't the most romantic place to do this. And before you say anything, I know having a baby together doesn't mean you should get married, now a days. But I want to do this anyway. I love you Bree, and I want to marry you. If you'll have me?"

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The wedding was a small affair at Stark Tower. Tony officiated, and all the Avengers attended. Along with Agent Coulson and Director Fury. Bree's mother sent her love, but didn't come. It was bittersweet for both of them, but they both somehow knew that in order to move on from their tragic pasts, they would need to do it apart from one another. They kept in touch, but most of their relationship seemed to have died with the rest of their family.

A few months later, with Steve by her side Bree gave birth to twin baby boys. Steven Grant Rodgers, Jr was the spitting image of his father, born with a head of blond hair and big blue eyes. He brother was born with a sprinkling of red hair and his mother's eyes. They named him Timothy Sullivan Rodgers. His name got a lot of looks from people who knew, until it was explained.

When they found out they were having twins, Bree insisted that it was the universe's way of paying her back. So much had been taken away from her, and now it was being replaced. She felt she needed to pay tribute to the life, and the family, she had lost. Steve, who had watched during the pregnancy as the last of the sadness in her eyes was dimmed out by the old light she used to have, couldn't help but agree.


End file.
